Content Area(s): Life Sciences Topic: Fats and Overeating Short description: Researchers at the University of California Irvine discovered that when rats ate fat, cells in their stomach began making chemicals called endocannabinoids which made fatty foods irresistible to the rats. The researchers believe that these chemicals encourage humans to eat more fatty foods, just like in rats.
Claim: Eating fatty foods stimulates the production of endocannabinoids, which may cause people to crave fatty foods.
Keywords: high fat diet, endocannabinoids Difficulty of Concept: Hard
MS-ETS1 Engineering Design
MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy
RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations descriptions.
RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts and reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection and research.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Math
6.SP.B.5 Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context
Topic of Game Introduction Video: Reliability of Evidence Description/Application of Game Introduction Video:
This brief movie is used to introduce the concept of reliability before playing the scenario about eating fatty foods in the Reason Racer game. Reliability is generally thought to be a quality of information that is consistent. It is a component of scientific argumentation and involves getting the same results each time you repeat a measurement or observation. It requires students to consider the methodology when making a decision about accepting or rejecting a claim. Before playing the game, students could discuss what ideas they need to consider when making a judgment about the reliability of evidence used to support a claim. Link to Game Introduction Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L49zbxqGtpc
Full Text of Article:
Fatty foods taste good, but eating too much can cause health problems. Too much fat can cause weight gain and increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes. So why is it so hard to resist overeating? A new study suggests a possible reason. It turns out that eating fat causes your body to want even more fat.
Scientists studied rats by feeding them different diets. The researchers noticed that when rats ate fatty foods, their bodies activated molecules called endocannabinoids. These molecules tell the body when it is time to eat, so the rats that ate fats always wanted more food. Rats that at healthy diets only had active endocannabinoids when they were truly hungry.
The research was done by Dr. Daniele Piomelli at the University of California, Irvine. The research by Piomelli and his team suggests that eating fats, which activate endocannabinoids, can make an animal want to keep eating. The same effect might happen in humans, because cells and molecules work together in a similar way in rats and people.
Rung, E. "The endocannabinoid system in appetite regulation." Diabesity. The University of Edinburgh. http://www.diabesity.eu/endos.htm
Hansen, HS. & Artmann, A. (May, 2008). "Endocannabinoids and nutrition. Journal of Neuroendocrinology. Supplement 1:94-9. Abstract retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18426507
Title: Eating Fatty Foods
Content Area(s): Life SciencesTopic: Fats and Overeating
Short description: Researchers at the University of California Irvine discovered that when rats ate fat, cells in their stomach began making chemicals called endocannabinoids which made fatty foods irresistible to the rats. The researchers believe that these chemicals encourage humans to eat more fatty foods, just like in rats.
Claim: Eating fatty foods stimulates the production of endocannabinoids, which may cause people to crave fatty foods.
Keywords: high fat diet, endocannabinoids
Difficulty of Concept: Hard
Reading Level (Pit Stop 8 Article):
Flesch Reading Ease: 60.6Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 8.3
Lexile: 1000
Next Generation Science Standards:
MS-ETS1 Engineering DesignMS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations descriptions.
RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts and reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection and research.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Math
6.SP.B.5 Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context
Vocabulary Words: molecules, pharmacologist, protein, obese
Topic of Game Introduction Video: Reliability of Evidence
Description/Application of Game Introduction Video:
This brief movie is used to introduce the concept of reliability before playing the scenario about eating fatty foods in the Reason Racer game. Reliability is generally thought to be a quality of information that is consistent. It is a component of scientific argumentation and involves getting the same results each time you repeat a measurement or observation. It requires students to consider the methodology when making a decision about accepting or rejecting a claim. Before playing the game, students could discuss what ideas they need to consider when making a judgment about the reliability of evidence used to support a claim.
Link to Game Introduction Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L49zbxqGtpc
Full Text of Article:
Fatty foods taste good, but eating too much can cause health problems. Too much fat can cause weight gain and increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes. So why is it so hard to resist overeating? A new study suggests a possible reason. It turns out that eating fat causes your body to want even more fat.Scientists studied rats by feeding them different diets. The researchers noticed that when rats ate fatty foods, their bodies activated molecules called endocannabinoids. These molecules tell the body when it is time to eat, so the rats that ate fats always wanted more food. Rats that at healthy diets only had active endocannabinoids when they were truly hungry.
The research was done by Dr. Daniele Piomelli at the University of California, Irvine. The research by Piomelli and his team suggests that eating fats, which activate endocannabinoids, can make an animal want to keep eating. The same effect might happen in humans, because cells and molecules work together in a similar way in rats and people.
References/Sources:
Additional Content:
Author: Kathy Carlsen